Initially known as HTC Pico, the HTC Explorer has been officially announced by the Taiwanese company as “its most affordable smartphone.”

It’s not clear yet what version of Android the Explorer is running, but it’s probably 2.3 Gingerbread. In any case, the new handset features Sense UI, a 3.2 HVGA display, 3MP camera, 512MB of internal memory, and a 600MHz processor.

There will be three color versions of the Explorer: Metallic Black, Active Black and Metallic Navy. Moreover, customers will be able to buy optional back covers in the following colors: Metallic White, Metallic Blue, Metallic Purple and Metallic Orange.

“HTC Explorer is simply a smarter phone for anyone and it represents another clear demonstration of HTC’s global commitment to expanding the market for advanced smartphones,” declared Jason Mackenzie, president of global sales and marketing at HTC.

HTC says the Explorer will be available starting the fourth quarter of the year in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. The smartphone’s exact price hasn’t been disclosed, but it has to be under $300.
[UWV]

Recommended for you:

Remember that LG Bryce that was supposed to be released by MetroPCS? Well, it will be, but under a different name: LG Esteem.

The Esteem has been spotted on an official LG website recently, and now we can confirm that it’s going to be one of MetroPCS’ new LTE-capable smartphones.

The Esteem is similar to Verizon’g LG Revolution, thus it features a 4.3 inch WVGA display, 1GHz single-core processor, 5MP rear camera with 720p video recording, 1.3MP front-facing camera, 512MB of RAM, and 8GB of internal memory. Unlike the Revolution, though, the Esteem will run Android 2.3 Gingerbread from day one.

According to Android Central, MetroPCS will sell the LG Esteem for $349 after a $100 mail-in rebate (no contract required). We’ll let you know when the carrier decides to launch the handset.
[UWV]

Incoming search terms for the article:

Barnes & Noble release it’s Nook Color device as an ebook reader although we all know that the Nook is actually an Android tablet. Sport a 7inch display, Nook Color is sold with a $249 price. Now Barnes & Noble readying another Android powered device and will sell it as an Android Tablet. We have no idea on what this tablet will be called but it is codenamed as Acclaim. Still no info on it’s specs yet but Acclaim is expected to be available in the next quarter with a $349 price tag.
[LAM]

iRiver will release the Vanilla Android smartphone in the South Korean market via LG U+. The handset comes jam packed with a 3.5-inch multitouch display with a resolution of 800×480 pixels, the Google Android 2.2 Froyo operating system, a 512MB of RAM, a microSD card slot that supports up to 32GB of storage space, and a 5-megapixel AutoFocus camera. The iRiver Vanilla comes equipped with a 4GB microSD card. Unfortunately, there is no info on pricing at this time.
[CP]

Samsung has launched its Android-based portable media players in Germany. The Galaxy S WiFi 4.0 and 5.0 are now available in Germany for a price of 229 euros and 269 euros respectively along with bunch of other accessories.

Both Galaxy S WiFi 4.0 and 5.0 run on Android 2.2 OS and comes with a 4-inch Super Clear LCD and 5-inch LCD respectively, 1GHz processor, Bluetooth 3.0, VoIP support, Wi-Fi, GPS, 3.2MP rear and VGA front-facing camera, DLNA, microSD card slot.

Galaxy S WiFi 4.0 features a 1200mAh battery that claims to give up to 36 hours of music or 5 hours of video and Galaxy S WiFi 5.0’s 2500mAh battery can give up to 60 hours of music and 8 hours of video.

[SH]

NTT DoCoMo is ready to launch a new PlayStation-certified smartphone in the Japanese market. Dubbed as the Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY SO-01D, the smartphone features a 4.0-inch VGA display, a 1GHz processor, a microSD memory card slot(up to 32GB), and a 5-megapixel digital camera with HD video recording capabilities. There is also a side-sliding gaming controller with two analog touch pads, left/right shoulder buttons, and a digital D pad. What’s more, the handset supports Xperia PLAY Game Launcher that allows you to find content designed specifically for the Xperia PLAY. The Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY SO-01D will be available for pre-order in October 2011.
[CP]

Sprint is ready to release the LG Marquee Android 2.3 smartphone on October 2nd, 2011. The handset features a 4-inch NOVA display, a 1GHz processor, a 5MP rear-facing camera, a 2MP front-facing camera for video call, and the Google Android 2.3 operating system. The LG Marquee retails for only $99.99 with a new two-year contract and after a $50 mail-in rebate.
[CP]

Sharp has officially announced their newest Android smartphone called Aquos SH8298U. The device is a 3D-capable Android smartphone. Aside from that, the SH8298U has glasses-free 3D features and a dual cameras on the back of 8-megapixels.

It packed with a 4.2-inch qHD display, a 1.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255 single-core processor, 512MB of RAM, 2GB onboard storage, and a 1240mAh battery. The device is running Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS. The SH8298U comes in white and red colors. It will be available via SoftBank in Japan.

[SP]

Although we still have to wait for an official confirmation on this, it looks like Sprint will finally get the chance to sell Apple’s iPhone (starting next month – October). We’ve already heard that Sprint could offer both the current iPhone 4 model, and the yet to come iPhone 5, and now we’re hearing even more details.

According to Bloomberg, Sprint wants to provide unlimited data plans to customers who will buy the iPhone. This way, the third largest US mobile carrier hopes to lure users from Verizon and AT&T, which don’t offer unlimited plans at all.

At the moment, Sprint’s unlimited plan (data and voice included) costs $99.99, and I assume the iPhone 5 unlimited plan will be priced similarly.

Sprint is expected to launch Apple’s new iPhone 5 in mid-October – just like AT&T and Verizon.

[UV]

Yahoo! is planning to release an android smartphone. The device is made by Sharp and targeted to folks in Japan. It would have a custom user interface skin and of course, Yahoo! as the main search engine.

The handset is heading to SoftBank Japan as the Yahoo Phone. It features 1 Ghz processor, a 4.0″ qHD display, Android 2.3 Gingerbread and a 8MP shooter. When the customers purchase the handset, they will received Yahoo Premium for 2 years free.